A few months ago whilst sufering a bout of anxiety I had what I think (and for that matter my doctor seemed to think) was a panic attack. Now I think I may have had another....

This morning started off really well, I'd had a good nights sleep and was generally relaxed. As I was snoozing I felt a pain in my chest - looking back, it was nothing too dramatic and I have frequent acid reflux problems, which often produce that sort of pain. I am however a bit of a hypochondriac and the possibility of a heart condition has never entirely left my mind, depite an 'ok' from the doctor. I don't know why, but probably as a result of this paranoia I sat bolt upright in bed when I felt the pain. Next came a fluttering in my chest, followed by a feeling of slight dizziness. I started to feel like I was about to be sick. At this point the dizziness got much worse, almost as if I was about to pass out and I began sweating profusely. I was still sat up and the symptoms weren't getting any better I tried to control my breathing which didn't seem to have a massive effect and finnally I lay down on my side, at which point the symptoms fairly rapidly eased. In the space of 5 minutes I'd gone from being relaxed and feeling good, to the worst I've ever felt and back again. Ok, I was a little shook up, but I was physically ok in probably somewhat less than 5 minutes.

From what I've heard this sounds like a fairly text book panic attack. As mentioned, I have mild chest pains, which after a brief examination my doctor concluded were due to acid reflux. Ever since I was a kid I've had occasional 'flutters' in my chest which occured rarely and never really worried me. Recently, I've put this down to esophegeal spasms caused by the acid reflux. I also have occasional bouts of feeling rather spaced out (like your drunk, but I hasten to add I'm not a heavy drinker or a drug user) I just put these down to an unfulfilling job and recent anxiety. A friend suggested those symptoms combined might point to Mitral Valve Prolapse. I'm a young (24) healthy male with no history of heart disease in the family, whatsmore I have a rather under-used analytical mind which likes going off on scary tangents! So, it may just be esophegeal spasms mimiking the chest flutters, the occasional panic attack when I get too worried about it and a spot of general anxiety causing the unreality..... Who knows. Just feel a bit happier sharing my experience on here.

There are many definitions of panic attacks and many symptoms but here is the basic definition to refresh our memories:

The sudden onset of intense anxiety, characterized by feelings of intense fear and apprehension and accompanied by palpitations, shortness of breath, sweating, and trembling. Also called anxiety attack.

I am glad it subsided for you and that you have had discussions with your physician so he is aware of your symptoms.

If something changes in your attacks, please follow up with your physician.

Stay with us my friend, we care about you.

RespectfullyKitt

Moderator Anxiety ~ Panic DisordersDx: Anxiety/Panic, Depression______________________________________________________"If you doubt you can accomplish something, then you can’t accomplish it. You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.” ~Rosalyn Carter

panic attacks are often diagnosed by eliminating all other possibilities

panic attacks

and GERD often go together

when a panic attack starts, it helps to avoid tensing up or fighting back but do accept, try to relax and do breathe deep and slow

panic attacks wont hurt you, I am now 65 and in good health after 20 years of panic attacks

recovered former longtime anxiety and panic attack sufferer and helper of other sufferers but no training or qualifications in medicine or psychology, any remarks that may be taken as advice must be confirmed with doctor or other health professional

emails are welcome but do mention healingwell to avoid risk of deletion as spam

ChrisI too ahve to agree with Kitt on this and I believe you are having A/P attacks It is quite common with all the symtoms you have listed so farI PREFER to call it Health Anxiety not hypochondriaI also believe that we are more in TUNE with our bodies and feel every twinge there is ......

Stay with us and do tell your DOC all of what you have said in post as well as any other info deemed necessary That is the only way they can properly dx any disease

It's quite annoying - thought I'd got over the anxiety I had before. When this attack happened I was about as relaxed as I ever could be - Sunday morning, slept in a little, sun coming in through the window. Then, chaos - felt pretty horrible.

part of the difficulty of living with panic attacks is their unpredictability, they usually dont happen when they should but do hit you 'out of the blue' when not expected

recovered former longtime anxiety and panic attack sufferer and helper of other sufferers but no training or qualifications in medicine or psychology, any remarks that may be taken as advice must be confirmed with doctor or other health professional

emails are welcome but do mention healingwell to avoid risk of deletion as spam

We had a brief talk about the symptoms and she listened to my heart and concluded everything was fine medically and it was "probably just an anxiety thing, nothing to worry about" (slight irony in that sentence )

Just stated that everyones heart litterally skips a beat every so often and if you're not doing anything (ie sat at the computer screen all day in a boring job!!) and also particularly conscious of your body you're more likely to recognise it, which I suppose is true.

She was happy that the 'episode' over the weekend was just an unexplained panic attack.